Historical Note

The track was built in a cornfield by Frank Funk, opening in 1916. It operated as a 1/2 mile flat, oiled dirt oval through 1921. It operated as a 1/2 mile high banked oval from 1922-1929. The high banked oval was oiled from September 1st, 1929 through May 30th, 1942, and then after WWII from August 14th, 1945 through 1951. NASCAR GN ran on the high-banked oiled oval on October 15th, 1950. The track was paved in 1951 and has operated continuously since, except for 1961 and 2004.

The track has also operated as Funk's Lake and Funk's Motor Speedway. Frank Funk promoted the track from 1914 through 1963.

More Historical Notes

Pete Wales owned the track for a brief 10 years, from 1960 to 1970. Wales was instrumental in getting the track paved for a first time, covering up the old clay surface. In the 1970s, another new owner, Roger Holdeman, took over responsibilities of the speedway. It was during Holdeman's tenure that the speedway underwent numerous surface changes, as well as pushing the track into its prime. It was 1970 when Holdeman was involved in getting the first 400-lap late model stock race cars. running, the one that would eventually turn into one of the most decorated races in all of the country, the Winchester 400. Upon his death in February of 1996, his widow, Linda, took over the track responsibilities and held them until November of 1997.